Sketches with my Gelly Roll pen

after the PPASP meeting, a group of us sketched together
this is my sketch, see what others did here

more thumbs, playing with values

"It has been said that nothing depresses the soul so much as perfect symmetry. Symmetry is static; variety is dynamic." John F. Carlson

Art books to read often

Three books Eric Jacobsen recommends to his students:

• Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson
• The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
• Hawthorne on Painting by Mrs. Charles W. Hawthorne

All three were on my studio library shelf. Now they are in my house, by my bed, on the coffee table. I will continue to look at them again and again and refer to them often with my painting questions and thoughts.

Are these books the ones you refer to in your art practice? Do you have others you recommend?

10 x 10
painting start

something new to try in the studio

My eye doctor did a bang up job dilating my pupils for my eye exam today. Six hours later my vision is still blurred and it's hard to tell that my eyes are green for all of the black pupils. Even with the blurry vision, I started a new oil painting to put into practice and remind myself again of some of the things from the Still Life workshop I took over the weekend. Big shapes with the right values first. Tomorrow I'll look again and see if I need much detail to finish it. Starts are a lot of fun!